Prediction of AF in ESUS (AF-ESUS)

October 16, 2018 updated by: George Ntaios, University of Thessaly

Prediction of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (AF-ESUS)

The aim of the proposed study is to identify predictors of covert atrial fibrillation (AF) in Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (ESUS) patients and develop a prognostic score for the identification of covert AF in this population.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Detailed Description

A new clinical entity termed Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (ESUS) was recently introduced by the Cryptogenic Stroke/ESUS International Working Group, which describes stroke patients for whom the source of embolism remains undetected despite thorough investigation; potential embolic sources include diseases of the mitral and aortic valves, the left cardiac chambers, the proximal cerebral arteries of the aortic arch and the venous system via paradoxical embolism. ESUS has been proposed as a potential therapeutic entity with a possible indication for anticoagulation, a hypothesis which is currently tested in two randomized controlled trials.

ESUS is defined as a visualized non-lacunar brain infarct in the absence of a) extracranial or intracranial atherosclerosis causing ≥50% luminal stenosis in arteries supplying the area of ischaemia, b) major-risk cardioembolic source, and c) any other specific cause of stroke (e.g. arteritis, dissection, migraine/vasospasm, drug misuse). Major risk sources of cardioembolism include permanent or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, sustained atrial flutter, intracardiac thrombus, prosthetic cardiac valve, atrial myxoma or other cardiac tumours, mitral stenosis, recent (<4 weeks) myocardial infarction, left ventricular ejection fraction less than 30%, valvular vegetations, or infective endocarditis.

Recently, our group presented a descriptive analysis of an ESUS population derived from the Athens Stroke Registry. Among the overall ischemic stroke population, 10% of patients were classified as ESUS. These strokes were of mild-moderate severity and covert AF was identified as the underlying etiopathogenetic mechanism in approximately 40% of ESUS patients. The mortality risk in ESUS patients is lower compared to patients with cardioembolic stroke despite similar rates of stroke recurrence.

Also, the risk of stroke recurrence is higher in ESUS patients than in patients with non-cardioembolic strokes which could be a sign that the current antithrombotic strategy of treating ESUS patients with antiplatelets is suboptimal. Indeed, currently, it is not clear whether antiplatelets or anticoagulants are the ideal antithrombotic strategy in ESUS. Recently, two international, phase III, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial were launched aiming to investigate whether anticoagulant treatment is superior to antiplatelet treatment for the secondary prevention in ESUS patient : the Randomized Evaluation in Secondary stroke Prevention Comparing the Thrombin inhibitor dabigatran etexilate versus aspirin in Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (RE-SPECT ESUS) trial and the NAVIGATE trial will compare dabigatran etexilate and rivaroxaban respectively to aspirin in ESUS patients.

It would be clinically useful to identify the predictors of covert AF in the ESUS population as this could possibly influence the choice of antithrombotic treatment, e.g. anticoagulants in ESUS patients at high risk of covert AF, and antiplatelets for ESUS patients with low risk of covert AF.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

500

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Greece
      • Athens, Greece
        • Department of Clinical Therapeutics, University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital
      • Larissa, Greece, 41110
        • Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa University Hospital
  • Switzerland
      • Lausanne, Switzerland
        • Centre Cérébrovasculaire, Service de Neurologie, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The dataset will be derived mainly from three high quality, prospective stroke registries: the Acute STroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne (ASTRAL), the Athens Stroke Registry and the Larissa Stroke Outcome Registry (LASTRO)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1. Embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) defined as:

    • Ischemic stroke (including transient ischemic attack with positive neuroimaging) visualized by brain CT or MRI that is not lacunar (i.e., subcortical infarct ≤1.5 cm), and
    • Absence of cervical carotid atherosclerotic stenosis (or vertebral and basilar artery stenosis in case of posterior circulation stroke), that is ≥ 50%, or occlusion in arteries supplying the area of ischemia in CT or magnetic resonance (MR) angiography or ultrasound, and
    • No history of AF, no documented AF on 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) or episode of AF lasting 6 minutes or longer detected after ≥ 24-hour cardiac rhythm monitoring (Holter or telemetry), and
    • No intra-cardiac thrombus on transthoracic echocardiography, and
    • No other specific cause of stroke identified by routine clinical care (e.g., arteritis, dissection, migraine/vasospasm, drug abuse)
  • 2. Age ≥18 years
  • 3. Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1. ≥ 50% luminal stenosis or occlusion in arteries supplying the area of ischemia
  • 2. History of AF
  • 3. Life expectancy less than 6 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Other

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Atrial fibrillation
Time Frame: Twelve months
Occurrence of atrial fibrillation during follow-up assessed either by 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) or telemetry or 24-hours Holter ECG, or longer-term ECG monitoring.
Twelve months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Thessaly

Collaborators

University of Athens
University of Lausanne

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: George Ntaios, MD, PhD, Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2018

Study Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

May 9, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 17, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 16, 2018

Last Verified

October 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • WI211961

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Indonesia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe